Council: Pet store can stay open, but no new stores allowed

During its last meeting of the year, members of Toledo City Council passed legislation that allows existing pet stores that sell dogs and cats to remain open, but prohibits new stores from opening in the city.

Debbie and John Stottele own the Family Puppy at Franklin Park Mall. Toledo Free Press photo by Kim Sanchez

As part of the new legislation, stores like The Family Puppy, which recently opened at Franklin Park Mall, will have to comply with a series of regulations.

Animals sold will be required to have a series of vaccinations and be microchipped. Store owners will also face a $50 fine for each animal sold that is not spayed or neutered. The store will also be required to supply customers with written proof of the name and address of the breeder, as well as a record of the animal’s health and vaccinations.

The amendment, which was proposed by Councilman Rob Ludeman and Council President Paula Hicks-Hudson, was passed by a vote of 11-1. Councilman Mike Craig was the only “no” vote.

Ludeman called the legislation “a mixed breed amendment” and said he was pleased with the way it turned out.

“This ordinance is not perfect, and it doesn’t accomplish what both sides want. So maybe that makes it a good piece of legislation,” Ludeman said.

“I think it will promote people going to a breeder of note and record like my wife and I have done in the past,” Ludeman said. “I would definitely do my research and go online.”

Craig called the amendment “bad legislation.”

“People assert that this will stop certain things from happening, but it’s just not going to help them in any way,” Craig said.

“It just kind of ruffled my fur,” he added.

Several issues

John Stottele, who owns The Family Puppy with his wife Debbie, said he was happy his store had been grandfathered in with the new ordinance, but said he has several issues with the way the ordinance is written.

“We’re thrilled that we can stay open, and we think that we offer a service to residents of Toledo to find a good source to buy a puppy. We’re just kind of the middle man. The breeders ask us to find families that want to buy their puppies. Our breeders are screened by us and it’s a good way for a family to say, ‘They’ve gone and seen the breeders so we don’t have to’,” Stottele said.

The Family Puppy chain of pet stores is based in southeast Michigan; it obtains its puppies from about 20 Amish breeders in northern Indiana. Stottele said his stores already comply with a number of conditions required by the new ordinance, including microchipping, vaccinations and providing customers with information about the pet’s health and background.

Stottele did take issue with three facets of the new ordinance, all related to vaccinations puppies sold in the city are required to have.

“One thing that is a problem is that the vaccinations that they are requiring are outdated,” Stottele said. “No veterinarian I know of will give 8-week-old puppy leptospirosis until they are 12 weeks of age. It’s not safe to have them vaccinated that young.”

Stottele said most veterinarians giving puppies a rabies vaccine between 17 and 18 weeks of age, and that giving puppies that vaccination by the 8-week requirement imposed by the new ordinance would have an adverse effect on the other vaccines given to the dogs at that time.

Stottele also said he had hoped the parvovirus vaccine, which he said is given to his dogs, would be added to the list of required vaccinations.

Stottele said he is looking forward to his store being in the city for many years to come.

“I hope we’ll prove to City Council that the ordinance that they’ve passed didn’t need to be there at all because pet stores aren’t the problem. Breeders are the problem,” Stottele said. “We do have a sign that says, ‘Have you visited an animal shelter first?’ and we have 40 percent of kennel space devoted to rescue. We would like to partner with a local rescue to let them use space in our store to have a meet and greet adoption day. They do that at other pet stores. Why not ours?”

Many local animal welfare advocates said they are happy with some of what was included in the new ordinance, but were left feeling as if the legislation did not go far enough.

John Dinon, the Ohio director of outreach and engagement for the Humane Society of the United States, said he has mixed feelings about the ordinance.

“I think that this ordinance is pretty much like any piece of animal welfare legislation in Ohio or Toledo. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but it’s an improvement,” Dinon said. “I would have liked for it to not allow people to sell dogs and cats in Toledo that didn’t come from a shelter, and I would also have liked for them not to sell animals that haven’t been spayed or neutered.”

Dinon said that while he understands how it would have been perceived as unfair to force The Family Puppy to close, he is also concerned about the store being the only pet store in the city to sell dogs and cats.

“It’s also unfair to give them a monopoly,” Dinon said. “Responsible breeders do not sell their animals through pet stores. So if a pet store says they only get USDA inspections, there is no assurance that animals are treated humanely.”

Dinon said pet stores tend to get the animals they sell from “puppy mills.”

“The difference is rehoming homeless pets or supporting the puppy mill industry,” Dinon said. “Puppy mills don’t give breeding dogs a great quality of life. They tend to have health and social problems. We already have an overpopulation problem, and selling animals, particularly ones that are not spayed and neutered, doesn’t make sense.”

Susan Robinson, who attended the City Council meeting and is part of the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates, said she was upset that the ordinance was not as restrictive as it could have been, but was happy to see that it did pass.

“We made it impossible that any other store like this can open in Toledo, and we also increased public awareness of the problems with puppy mills,” Robinson said.

She said the organization, which has been holding protests against stores like The Family Puppy for the past few months on Saturdays at Franklin Park, is planning to keep a close watch on the store, with the hope of seeing it close.

“Toledo has set a precedent for other cities with the passage of this ordinance. And it creates less of a demand for the puppies from puppy mills,” Robinson said.

The ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1.

Any store that open after Jan. 1 will be prohibited from selling puppies and kittens unless the animals are obtained from a legitimate animal shelter, animal control agency, humane society or nonprofit rescue organization and the animals are spayed or neutered.

Council: Local pet store can stay open, but no new stores allowed

During their last meeting of the year, members of Toledo City Council passed legislation that would allow existing pet stores that sell dogs and cats to remain open, but would prohibit new stores from opening in the future.

As part of the new legislation, stores like The Family Puppy, which recently opened at the Franklin Park mall, will have to comply with a series of regulations.

Animals sold will be required to have a series of vaccinations and be microchipped. Store owners will also face a $50 fine for each animal sold that is not spayed or neutered. The store will also be required to supply customers with written proof of the name and address of the breeder, as well as a records of the animal’s health and vaccinations.

The amendment, which was proposed by Councilman Rob Ludeman and Council President Paula Hicks-Hudson, was passed by a vote of 11-1. Councilman Mike Craig was the only “no” vote.

Ludeman called the legislation, “a mixed breed amendment” and said he was pleased with the way it turned out.

“This ordinance is not perfect, and it doesn’t accomplish what both sides want. So maybe that makes it a good piece of legislation,” Ludeman said.

“I think it will promote people going to a breeder of note and record like my wife and I have done in the past,” Ludeman said. “I would definitely do my research and go online.”

Craig, who cast the only dissenting vote, called the amendment “bad legislation.”

“People assert that this will stop certain things from happening, but it’s just not going to help them in any way,” Craig said.

“It just kind of ruffled my fur,” he added.

John Stottele, who owns The Family Puppy with his wife Debbie, said he was happy his store had been grandfathered in with the new ordinance, but said he has several issues with the way the ordinance is written.

“We’re thrilled that we can stay open, and we think that we offer a service to residents of Toledo to find a good source to buy a puppy. We’re just kind of the middle man. The breeders ask us to find families that want to buy their puppies, our breeders are screened by us and it’s a good way for a family to say they’ve gone and seen the breeders so they don’t have to,” Stottele said.

The Family Puppy, chain of pet stores based in southeast Michigan, obtains its puppies from about 20 Amish breeders in northern Indiana. Stottele said his stores already comply with a number of conditions required by the new ordinance, including microchipping, vaccinations and providing customers with information about the pet’s health and background.

Stottele did take issue with three facets of the new ordinance, all related to vaccinations puppies sold in the city are required to have.

“One thing that is a problem is that the vaccinations that they are requiring are outdated,” Stottele said. “No veterinarian I know of will give 8-week-old puppy leptospirosis until they are 12 weeks of age. It’s not safe to have them vaccinated that young.”

Stottele said most veterinarians give puppies a rabies vaccine between 17 and 18 weeks of age, and that to give puppies that vaccination by the 8-week requirement imposed by the new ordinance would have an adverse effect on the other vaccines given to the dogs at that time.

Stottele also said he had hoped the parvovirus vaccine, which he said is given to his dogs, should have been added to the list of required vaccinations.

Stottele said he is looking forward to his store being in the city for many years to come.

“I hope we’ll prove to City Council that the ordinance that they’ve passed didn’t need to be there at all because pet stores aren’t the problem. Breeders are the problem,” Stottele said. “We do have sign that says, ‘Have you visited animal shelter first?’, and we have 40 percent of kennel space devoted to rescue. We would like to partner with a local rescue to let them use space in our store to have a meet and greet adoption day. They do that at other pet stores. Why not ours?”

Many local animal welfare advocates said they are happy with some of what was included in the new ordinance, but also left feeling as if the legislation did not go far enough.

John Dinon, the Ohio director of outreach and engagement for the Humane Society of the United States, said he has mixed feelings about the ordinance.

“I think that this ordinance is pretty much like any piece of animal welfare legislation in Ohio or Toledo. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but it’s an improvement,” Dinon said. “I would have liked for it to not allow people to sell dogs and cats in Toledo that didn’t come from a shelter, and I would also have liked for them not to sell animals that haven’t been spayed or neutered.”

Dinon said that while he understands how it would have been perceived to be unfair to force The Family Puppy to close, he is also concerned about the store being the only pet store in the city to sell dogs and cats.

“It’s also unfair to give them a monopoly,” Dinon said. “Responsible breeders do not sell their animals through pet stores. So if a pet store says they only get USDA inspections, there is no assurance that animals are treated humanely.”

Dinon said pet stores tend to get the animals they sell from puppy mills.

“The difference is rehoming homeless pets or supporting the puppy mill industry,” Dinon said. “Puppy mills don’t give breeding dogs a great quality of life. They tend to have health and social problems. We already have an overpopulation problem, and selling animals, particularly ones that are not spayed and neutered, doesn’t make sense.”

Susan Robinson, who attended the City Council meeting and is part of the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates, said she was upset that the ordinance was not as restrictive as it could have been, but was happy to see that the legislation did pass.

“We made it impossible that any other store like this can open in Toledo, and we also increased public awareness of the problems with puppy mills,” Robinson said.

She said the organization, which has been holding protests against stores like The Family Puppy for the last few months on Saturdays at Franklin Park, is planning to keep a close watch on the store, with the hope of seeing it closed.

“Toledo has set a precedent for other cities with the passage of this ordinance. And it creates less of a demand for the puppies from puppy mills,” Robinson said.

The ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Any store that open after Jan. 1 will be prohibited from selling puppies and kittens unless the animals are obtained from a legitimate animal shelter, animal control agency, humane society, nonprofit rescue organization and the animals are spayed or neutered.

Council postpones vote on pet sales

Toledo City Council members decided to postpone arguments on a measure that would restrict pet sales on Toledo.

Councilman Rob Ludeman, who co-sponsored the ordinance that would prohibit the sale of puppies and kittens in shops like the newly-opened The Family Puppy store at Franklin Park Mall, decided to hold off on arguments after two other councilmen proposed amendments to the legislation.

Councilman Tom Waniewski and mayor-elect D. Michael Collins each said they planned to add amendments to the proposed ordinance.

“We need to look at [Councilman] Waniewski’s amendment and the Collins proposal and see if we can blend that with what the ordinance was going to accomplish — something that’s solid but restrictive,” Ludeman said.

John Stottele, the owner of The Family Puppy, said he is still hopeful his store will remain open.

“What I would hope would come out of all of this is that we would be able to continue giving licensed, healthy pets to the people of Toledo,” Stottele said. “I’ve asked City Council why they would want to trade the only regulated source of puppies for an unregulated source.”

Stottele, who was not at the Nov. 26 meeting, said the breeders his company buys puppies from are licensed by the USDA and certified by the American Kennel Club. He also said his stores leave 40 percent of their kennel space open for rescues, and that his company has placed more than 11,000 rescued kittens in homes.

“I think everybody involved is trying to get rid of bad breeders. Let’s just work together to get rid of bad breeders,” Stottele said.

Ludeman said the Nov. 26 meeting was not an ideal time to completely resolve issues over the ordinance.

“We’re not going to debate for four hours right before Thanksgiving,” Ludeman said. “This is important enough for us to have everyone there, and we felt it was best to hold off for two more weeks.”

Council hears feedback on proposed pet legislation

Discourse was passionate but civil at a Nov. 19 committee meeting during which Toledo City Council members heard for nearly two hours from supporters and skeptics of proposed legislation that would regulate the sale of dogs and cats in Toledo.

The ordinance, co-sponsored by Council president Paula Hicks-Hudson and Council member Rob Ludeman, would prohibit the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops, retail businesses and commercial establishments unless the animals are obtained from a legitimate animal shelter, animal control agency, humane society, nonprofit rescue organization and the animals are spayed or neutered.

The intent is to prevent the sale of animals from substandard breeding facilities commonly referred to as “puppy mills” or “kitten factories.”

Passage of the legislation would directly affect The Family Puppy, a pet shop that opened at Westfield Shopping Center on Oct. 18. The Michigan-based business buys puppies from Amish breeders in northern Indiana and sells them in its six locations: five in Southeast Michigan and one in Toledo. It also offers an adoption program, which serves mainly kittens. Owners John and Debbie Stottele said they would close the Toledo store if the legislation is passed.

About 25 supporters of the legislation attended the meeting wearing stickers that read “Boycott The Family Puppy.”

Susan Robinson of Woodville, who has participated in regular protests held outside the Toledo shop, said she owns two dogs rescued from Amish puppy mills.

“The places they came from are horrific and they will have lifelong consequences because of that,” Robinson said. “I know that some puppy mills are better than others, but that is like saying some forms of cancer are better than others. We would like them all to go away.”

Jaleen Tocco of the Ohio Coalition for Dogs said puppy mills exist because they are lucrative.

“The only way to stop puppy mills is to cut off the demand in the market,” Tocco said.

Mary Stulpin of Curtice said she has five dogs rescued from puppy mills.

“They’re the lucky ones,” Stulpin said. “Many of these animals never get this opportunity. I ask you to think about the horrible conditions of the dogs who are left behind.”

The Stotteles insist they carefully screen the breeders they buy from.

“We have developed a great partnership with our breeders and know them personally,” John wrote in a letter to City Council. “We have been in their kennels and homes and continue to strive to provide our client families the very best puppy: happy, healthy, well socialized, choice. We are continually improving our breeders including the physical and social wellbeing of the parent dogs. We have been matching puppies and families for more than 15 years while maintaining an A+ BBB Rating.”

“Many times we’ve said we’re not like other pet stores and we feel we’re not,” Debbie told Council members on Nov. 19. “We do not feel that our puppies are the problem.”

John said he is in agreement with Council members and the activists who want to eradicate puppy mills, which he prefers to call “substandard breeders.”

“We need to clamp down on bad breeders — and we’re in that fight,” John said. “The state wants to stop bad breeders, the federal government wants to stop bad breeders, we want to stop bad breeders. But what you’re proposing will not do that.”

Stottele said only about 4 percent of dogs in the U.S. are purchased through pet stores. The rest come from private sales, Internet sales and shelters, which are largely unregulated.

“Google all day long ‘Puppies for sale in Ohio’ and you’ll find hundreds of Internet sellers and there is no regulation at all,” John said. “Look at what you’re doing. Don’t trade a highly regulated industry for a nonregulated industry.”

The legislation was drafted after Hicks-Hudson and Ludeman were approached by Jean Keating of the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates and others.

“We have made tremendous strides, not just the city of Toledo but Lucas County as a whole, moving forward and becoming a more humane community,” Keating said.

Keating and Pam Sordyl of Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan said The Family Puppy’s three largest suppliers are puppy mills.

“The Family Puppy is neither here nor there to me; I have no issue with the store itself. My issue is with puppy mill dogs,” Keating said. “[Through USDA records], we basically proved that yes, he does buy from those breeders and yes those breeders are all USDA inspected and yes those breeders all have violations almost every single year.”

The Stotteles said they break ties with breeders who are found to have egregious or repeat direct violations or do not fulfill The Family Puppy’s strict breeder requirements, which voluntarily exceed those required by the USDA.

Gail Dick of the Ohio Association of Animal Owners told Council her group feels the legislation is “unfair and unnecessary.”

“The ordinance as we understand it was written specifically to drive this particular business establishment out of town,” Dick said. “It is unfair to assume and classify commercial breeders as unreputable because they sell animals to a retail establishment. It is also very disrespectful to portray all commercial breeders as neglectful [and] uncompassionate.”

Ron Johns, a University of Toledo student who unsuccessfully ran for City Council, said the legislation is bad for business.

“It’s really ironic that you guys are saying you want new business to come to Toledo. However, you’re passing legislation like this,” Johns said. “When you wonder why Toledo’s economy is lacking, I can tell you; it’s because of politicians passing legislation like this.”

Businessman Bill DeLaney, another unsuccessful City Council candidate, said people deserve a right to choose.

“We have a tendency sometimes to throw people out of this town, by whatever means,” Delaney said. “This man has a right to be here. He has paid his fees, got his permit, done everything he’s supposed to do to set up his business. He has a right to be here and people have a right to choose what they want to do.”

Ludeman said he is sponsoring the ordinance because of Toledo’s “huge pet overpopulation problem.”

“The sale of dogs and cats (companion animals) contributes to the proliferation of homeless or unwanted animals that are often poorly treated and/or end up in the public animal shelters and humane societies and animal welfare rescue organizations,” the legislation reads.

“Prohibiting the unregulated sale of companion animals in pet shops, retail businesses, or other commercial establishments may lower the sale of dogs and cats from inhumane ‘puppy mills’ and ‘kitten factories,’ and may lower the shelter animal euthanasia rate, and lead to a greater adoption rate of shelter animals,” the legislation reads.

Steve Serchuk, who has served on the boards of the Toledo Area Humane Society, Lucas County Dog Warden Citizens Advisory Council and Humane Ohio, said his biggest concern was that The Family Puppy doesn’t spay or neuter it’s puppies.

“I’m concerned this business is going to create negative effects by putting all these extra animals that are not spayed or neutered in our community,” Sorchuk said. “Because those animals are going to have more offspring and ultimately those offspring is going to fall to the nonprofits or the tax sponsored dog warden.”

John Dinan, former director of the Toledo Area Humane Society, also spoke in support of the legislation.

“The proliferation and sale of dogs from inhumane sources — that’s what this is really all about,” Dinan said. “Reputable breeders do not sell dogs through the pet shops. That’s just the way it is.”

The bill’s language currently would make the retail sale of such an animal a class 1 misdemeanor. There was some talk of that being too steep, but Dinan said he disagreed.

“Since this is regulating a revenue generating business, if the penalties are not stiff enough then it just becomes a cost of doing business,” Dinan said.

Councilman Mike Craig said he thinks the legislation is “a terrible idea.”

“I’ve heard a lot of attacks on puppy mills when the legislation is an attack on The Family Puppy,” Waniewski said. “That’s what we have to weigh here: Are they getting them from a good puppy mill or a bad puppy mill?

“That’s what I’m trying to distinguish here,” he added. “I think there’s still some more to be done with this ordinance.”

Council members Shaun Enright, Steve Steel and Lindsay Webb were not present for the meeting, which met as a committee of the whole.